Bangladesh received only 1.25 per cent of the foreign climate finance pledged under its Nationally Determined Contribution 2.0, severely limiting the country鈥檚 ability to achieve its full carbon reduction potential, according to a study released in Dhaka on Saturday.
The study by research organisation Change Initiative, titled 鈥楤angladesh鈥檚 NDC-3.0: Pathways for Ambition, Action, and Finance,鈥� says that while Bangladesh is on track to achieve the unconditional greenhouse gas reduction pledged in NDC 2.0, the country is struggling to realise the conditional 89.47 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent (MtCO鈧俥) cuts due to lack of finance and technology.
The study estimates that Bangladesh needs $270.12 billion per year for the conditional implementation as per the NDC 2.0 but secured a minuscule $3.39 billon.聽
Through unconditional target a country commits to achieve carbon-dioxide equivalent cuts as much as it affords with its domestic resources, while conditional target can be achieved only with international support.
鈥楥onditional finance is not merely a budget line for mitigation鈥攊t is a question of carbon justice. Meeting commitments in mobilising grant-based climate finance is the bare minimum owed to vulnerable people and ecosystems,鈥� said Change Initiative chief executive M Zakir Hossain Khan, who led the research team.
Under the Paris Agreement in 2015, Bangladesh committed to a 5 per cent unconditional emission cut by 2030 which was raised to 6.73 in 2021 in NDC 2.0.
The conditional target was set 10 per cent in 2015 and raised to 15.12 in 2021.
Verified progress shows about 9 per cent unconditional reduction has already been achieved, with conditional gaps stemming from lack of finance and technology, not domestic inaction.
The report identified weak institutional coordination, an annual $2.86 billion financing gap, inadequate waste and transport planning, unreliable baseline data, and fragmented monitoring, reporting, and verification systems as critical barriers.
Energy expert and NDC 3.0 formulation team member Professor Ijaz Hossain warned that Dhaka had become one of the world鈥檚 most densely populated yet unliveable cities.
鈥楢 just transition must be built on renewable energy. NDC 3.0 emphasises renewable energy through better waste management, and its implementation will require broad-based dialogue with citizens and stakeholders,鈥� he said.
Experts stressed that NDC 3.0 must be more ambitious than its predecessors to align with the Paris Agreement鈥檚 1.5掳C goal, but warned that the ambition would falter without urgent and reliable international support.